Pre-Order ‘Mass Effect 3’ From PSN

Want to play Mass Effect 3 when it launches next month, but don’t want to leave your house? Lucky you! Electronic Arts and Sony announced today that the digital version of BioWare’s upcoming RPG-shooter can be pre-ordered from the PlayStation Network.

Starting today — when the PlayStation Store updates — you can pre-order your copy of Mass Effect 3through the title’s store page. Unlike walking into GameStop and putting down five dollars, chances are you’ll have to pay the game’s full price when pre-ordering, so go buy those $50 PSN cards now.

Those who pre-order from PSN will have access to M55 Argus Rifle, so don’t worry about missing out on any bonuses. Players will also get an exclusive Mass Effect 3 PS3 theme available only to digital pre-orders. And unlike getting Battlefield 3 for free, chances are EA won’t just cancel this offer.

Unfortunately, EA did not reveal the digital version’s pricing, but Mass Effect 2 may offer some clues. When Mass Effect 2 first launched on PS3, it was accompanied by a digital version, which was priced at the full retail MRSP of $59.99. While digital certainly does bring a level of convenience to consumers, it also helps pass some savings onto the publishers. It would be nice if EA could offer a slight discount to digital consumers, much like Sony does with digital Vita titles.

Mass Effect 3 isn’t the first game to be offered for pre-order on PSN, Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse was also made available for pre-order at one point. Hopefully, this means PSN will allow for pre-orders of future titles, much like digital retailers of PC games.

So then, what of Xbox Live? To our knowledge the system has never offered a game for pre-order. It’ll be interesting to see if big publishers like EA will be able to pressure Microsoft into easing up their system restrictions and allow it.